Chapter 41: A Dazzling Return!

After the festival ended, we were on our way back to the orphanage.

The festival, which had started with the enthusiastic cheers of the villagers, had continued all day long.

By the time it was late at night, we were all exhausted, and our steps were slower than usual.

But among us, there was one person who looked especially miserable.

“My head hurts…”

It was Ellie.

Ellie was completely drunk and was being carried on Alex’s back.

“I told you not to drink so much… Good grief.”

Alex was grumbling with a completely crumpled face as he carried Ellie.

But strangely, on his head, there was a huge bump.

I couldn’t hold back my curiosity when I saw it.

“Uncle, why do you have that bump on your head?”

When I asked, Alex sighed deeply and shook his head.

“The price of a lie, I suppose.”

“…A lie?”

“Remember the time when the villagers chased us like a horde of undead? The old folks started bringing it up, and they began hitting me pretty hard.”

“Ah, yeah…”

I quietly closed my mouth.

I could see Alex’s expression souring, and I decided it was best not to ask any more.

“Hehe… It’s been so long since I had this much fun. The festival was the best!”

Beside us, Sua was stretching her arms up high and shouting loudly.

Even Sua, who usually showed endless energy, was clearly exhausted that day.

“What about you, Eve?”

“It was fun, but I was tired because people kept touching my cheeks.”

I grumbled while rubbing my cheeks.

Throughout the festival, the villagers had been patting and poking my face, repeatedly saying, “So cute!”

“Your cheeks are soft, so they probably wanted to touch them. You were like the icon of the festival.”

“Icon or not, I don’t like being touched anymore…”

It was so annoying.

They touched me so much that my cheeks still felt hot.

Ugh, I’m worried my precious cheek fat is going to sag like Uncle’s belly if this keeps up.

“Hehe.”

Sua giggled when she heard the frustration in my voice.

It was an oddly perverted laugh.

“Isn’t it nice to be loved by people? I envy that. I wanted to hear people say I was cute too, but everyone just looks at me strangely…”

“It’s because you always make sounds like ‘Hohoho!’ though. Hmm, but Sua, you’re cute enough with your looks. The problem is that your personality doesn’t match your looks.”

“Ugh, Eve, did you just compliment me?”

“No. I’m just stating the facts.”

“Thanks!”

As Sua started laughing, Harp, who had been quietly walking behind us, jumped into the conversation.

“Teacher just said it wasn’t a compliment.”

“Whoa, Harp. How long have you been there?!”

“Since a while ago.”

“…Hmm, Harp, I’ve never seen you once until now. Where have you been?”

“Well, of course. I used ‘the magic to erase my presence’ so the villagers couldn’t find me.”

“You erased your presence? There’s such magic?”

“Yeah. I just stayed quietly in the corner, and no one noticed me.”

“That’s just hiding!”

Sua sighed and said.

But Harp just shrugged her shoulders.

“As long as it works, who cares?”

Anyway, the walk from the village entrance to the orphanage became a time to cool down both our heated bodies and minds after the festival’s excitement.

Ah, come to think of it,

“Sua, you remember that we decided to go into the orphanage, right?”

“Yeah, of course!”

Sua answered with a smile at my question.

“Then don’t forget and keep your promise. You agreed to follow the rules I set.”

When I spoke firmly, Sua’s expression paused for a moment.

Then, her eyes sparkled, and she burst into laughter.

“Hehe, then I should really go all out now!”

“Go all out with what?”

I tilted my head, asking in confusion.

Instead of answering, Sua showed me with actions.

She suddenly stopped, stretched her arms wide, and shouted at the sky.

“Hoongjook!”

At that moment, Alex, with a face that looked like a rotten potato, started glaring at Sua.

“…Ah, here we go again.”

Alex sighed, pressing his hand against his forehead.

His face showed an unmistakable level of stress.

“That kid seems to be breaking the rules already, Teacher.”

“Hohohoho! Eve, this is my final cry of freedom! Once we’re in the orphanage, I won’t be able to do this, so I’m getting it all out now!”

“…I’m speechless.”

I sighed and shook my head.

“Stop it.”

When I spoke in a stern voice, Sua slowly stepped back and raised both hands above her head.

“Okay, okay. Calm down.”

“Mmmnya, mmmnya….”

Meanwhile, Ellie was still drunk, dozing off on Alex’s back.

She must be really deep into her drunkenness.

To be able to sleep through all this noise.

“Alright, we’ve arrived.”

Before we knew it, we had arrived at the orphanage, exhausted, and we opened the door to enter.

The orphanage, which we hadn’t seen in a while, was even quieter than usual.

“Phew… Finally, we’re here.”

Alex carefully set Ellie down and let out a sigh. Ellie was still drunk and fast asleep.

“Uncle, is Ellie going to be okay?”

I asked with concern, and Alex waved his hand dismissively as he replied.

“Well, she’ll probably be embarrassed when she wakes up, but she’ll be fine. It’s always like this.”

He then shot a warning look at Sua.

“And you, Sua.”

“Uh, uh?”

“Who else is here except for you? While you’re at the orphanage, if you do anything to Eve, you better be ready. I don’t care if you’re a hero or whatever, I’ll tear everything down.”

Sua flinched at Alex’s sharp warning and took a step back.

“Sigh… Alright, alright. I swear I won’t lay a finger on Eve. I swear.”

“Good. Don’t forget that.”

With that, Alex lifted Ellie again, opened the orphanage door, and disappeared into the darkness.

“Ugh… I’m so tired. Is it time to sleep already?”

Sua stretched widely and naturally walked into the orphanage’s bedroom.

It was the room with the bed that Harp and I usually used.

“Ohho, is this the famous Eve’s bedroom? I’m so honored to be your new roommate starting today!”

Sua said in a silly tone, throwing herself lightly onto one side of the bed.

“…Hey, Hero.”

As she did, Harp, who had been silently observing, spoke up quietly.

“You know you’re not supposed to be in here, right?”

Sua tilted her head and asked back, confused.

“Why? I’m also a member of the orphanage, so isn’t it natural to share it?”

“According to the rules, adults can’t enter Eve’s room.”

“What? Adult? I’m a kid right now!”

“Well, inside, you’re an adult.”

“Th-that’s ridiculous. It’s forced logic!”

Sua protested, but Harp didn’t even blink as she spoke.

“It’s not forced. Stay away from the teacher.”

“Eve?! Say something!”

“Ugh… honestly, sharing a bed right away is a bit…”

Though I wanted to say yes, something about it felt a little off.

Maybe it was the image of Sua shouting, “Hohoho!” that lingered in my mind, but I just couldn’t bring myself to agree and shook my head.

“Ugh…”

At my harsh response, Sua finally seemed to give up, glancing at the bed before speaking.

“Sigh, then where am I supposed to sleep?”

“The living room sofa.”

“…You’re kidding, right? You’re serious?”

“I’m serious.”

In the face of Harp’s firm attitude, Sua finally bowed her head in defeat.

“The living room sofa… My hero life is going to be so miserable.”

“Fine. If you keep your promises, I’ll let you sleep here with me.”

“That’s good news, but it means not now, right?”

Sua grumbled as she left the room.

“Teacher, sleep comfortably now.”

“Thank you, Harp.”

I lay back on the bed and let out a deep sigh.

The room was quiet and cozy.

My body felt sluggish, and I could almost fall asleep right away.

“Ah… This really is the best place.”

“Indeed, Teacher.”

Harp smiled quietly as she looked at me.

I covered myself with the blanket and closed my eyes.

But the calm didn’t last long.

“AAAHHH!!”

A scream suddenly echoed from the living room.

“What, what is that?!”

I opened my eyes wide and jumped up from the bed.

Bang!

The door slammed open, and Sua came rushing into the room, out of breath.

“Help! This is bad!”

“What happened?!”

“The bathroom’s broken! The bathroom!”

Sua flailed her arms around, panicking.

“The bathroom…?”

Now that I think about it, we hadn’t repaired the bathroom since it broke last time.

“What should we do? No, what do we do, Director?!”

At Sua’s frantic cries, Harp let out a quiet sigh.

“I knew this would happen.”

Harp snapped her fingers and drew a small magic circle with her finger.

“Ah, this was the first spell I wanted to show you, Teacher…”

In an instant, Sua’s body was surrounded by a faint light.

The light gradually faded, and Sua’s hair and clothes were now neat and clean.

“Wow! I’m completely clean now!”

“Yeah, yeah. Now be quiet and go to the living room to sleep.”

Harp, looking exhausted, waved her hand and sat back down on the bed.

“I did it because if I left you, you’d probably keep whining and disturb your sleep, Teacher.”

“Harp! You’re the best!”

Ignoring Harp’s sharp response, Sua beamed and spun around before heading back to the living room.